In the comments section of a recent article I wrote on caring for African American Hair, someone mentioned that they found washing their hair on a daily basis made it more manageable. As an African American woman, I had always been of the opinion that daily washing would dry out African American hair and so I decided to investigate this person’s claims. I was eventually led to a number of forums about co-washing hair on a daily basis. I found the threads quite interesting and read everything I could find on the subject. Here is what I learned about co-washing African American hair.
What is Co-washing? Co-washing hair means to use conditioner instead of shampoo to wash hair. One would think that skipping the shampoo step when washing hair would leave it dirty, but the truth is that there is a small amount of detergent in hair conditioner.
How do You Co-Wash Hair: To co-wash hair, you would wet your hair in the same way as you do before you wash it with shampoo. Then you need to massage a liberal amount of conditioner into the scalp. Massage the scalp for several minutes. Next, you would put a plastic cap on your hair and take your shower while you let the conditioner sit. Finally, rinse out the conditioner thoroughly.
What kind of conditioner should you use: According the every suggestion that I read on co-washing, cheap conditioner that costs only $1.00 a bottle will do just fine. Recommended brands include Suave and VO5.
How often should you co-wash your hair? Some people report co-washing their hair on a daily basis and styling hair while wet into an afro, or and Afro puff. Others report co-washing hair two or three times a week. People with very thick and long hair that takes hours to dry, co-wash their hair only once a week.
Should people who co-wash ever use shampoo. Shampoo should be used once every three of four washes. For people who co-wash their hair on a daily basis, shampoo should be used once a week. The reason for using shampoo occasionally is to remove any build up from the conditioner.
Does co-washing really make hair more manageable? I did have an accidental experiment with co-washing hair. My teenage son has the kind of hair that most African American Women would kill for. A few months ago, for several weeks in a row I sent him to wash his hair saying only, please use conditioner. Around the third wash, I realized his hair had become very soft. I asked him what he had done differently and he replied, “I washed my hair with conditioner”. He had followed my instructions to the word and only used conditioner. Therefore, my accidental trial showed that co-washing hair could make hair softer and more manageable. I am currently trying it out myself, co-washing my hair every other day. My medium length natural hair is easier to style while still wet.
